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Heyyyyy, it’s me. I know I said last week that I would never ever leave you hanging again, dear reader, but you must understand that I am busy getting content for you all and I need a lot of sleep. Probably not as much sleep as I am getting, but that’s besides the point. If you’ll all forgive my absence, I do have two weeks worth of updates for you, so let’s get into it.

Pilates Review

Tuesday (April 15) & Wednesday (April 16) : Reformer Flow 1.5 with Maesy

I’m going to be completely honest with you all and let you know that I am writing this review on the 24th and cannot for the life of me remember anything we did in these classes. With my mad dash to get four classes in this week, despite not having the weekend for classes, they have merged together in my mind to form one class. They were both with Maesy, so obviously they were good (and tough), but I think I may have blacked out for them. But, as always, 10/10 for a Maesy class!

Thursday (April 17): Reformer Flow 1.5 with Lauren

I have never taken a class with Lauren, but in some of Maesy’s harder classes, she has said that she took inspiration from Lauren’s classes. Pentagon City classes in general are always harder than the Alexandria classes for some reason and this was the hardest 1.5 I’ve done so far. Starting out with foot work, she told us to put on two red, a blue, and a green (that’s almost all of them). Immediately, my legs turned to Jello, and I wanted to clarify that we were supposed to have this many springs on, but I didn’t want to look like a baby. So, I toughed it out. The rest of the class was a blur of heavy springs, many reps, and lengthy holding times. We did some work on the Pilates chair, which is always fun, as I don’t do much on the chair in my classes, so it is a bit of a mystery to me. I walked out shaking and a little nauseous, so I treated myself to a Target run afterward, which I deserved.

Wednesday (April 23): Reformer Flow 1.5 with Maesy

Back at it after a weekend off! I was signed up for Maesy’s level 2 class on Monday, but canceled it at soon as I turned off airplane mode when we landed at Dulles at 5:30am. I was a little too ambitious, thinking that I could have a full day of fun in Seattle, take a red eye back to DC, nap, and be up and at ’em for work and a level 2. Instead, I slept all day, took a break from sleep to watch a few episodes of Severance, then straight back to bed. Ya live and ya learn.

So, Wednesday was my first class back. It was with Maesy, so let’s all say it together: It was tough. But also very fun with lots of things I have never done before. One of these new things was lowering the foot bar completely and leaning the box against it. We worked on our hip flexors while sitting on the box facing the reformer. I don’t really know how to describe it but, it was hell (in a good way). Things got really fun when we started on planks. We had our feet on the box and our hands on the reformer. For those approved for level 2 classes (that’s me, thank you very much), we had our hands on the shoulder blocks. It’s so funny to me that I have turned into someone who thinks planks are fun, but here we are.

At the end of class, the woman next to me said that she was thankful to be next to me, because she could look at me to know what we were supposed to be doing. Maesy overheard her and said that if she is ever confused, she should look at me because my form is “perfect”. I once again went to my car and cried a little.

Friday (April 25): Reformer Flow 1.5 with Robin

Have you ever experienced a moment that is so embarrassing that it replays in your head for days? I have. And it was from this class. Let me set the scene. It’s about 35 minutes into the class and things are going well so far. It’s a level 1.5 at Pentagon City, so it’s difficult but I’m pushing through. Robin tells us to put one red spring on and is having us do a move that is working our arms and obliques. We’re kneeling on the reformer facing the front of the studio with one strap in both hands and we’re pulling it across our bodies and up to the diagonal. Kind of like this, but with our arms straight and it’s a bigger movement.

I feel a little unstable and it’s really difficult for me. We finish on that side and turn around and do the same thing facing the back of the studio. Everyone else seems to be doing this just fine like it’s no big deal, so I decide to full send it and on my first rep on this side, I whip my arms up. God laughs at me as the strap snaps back and pulls me with it, toppling me into the well. Luckily I catch myself with one hand before my head smacks the ground, but unluckily, the carriage slams home, causing a big crash and everyone to turn and look at the weak buffoon with no control. I recover with my face burning and try again, still confused why this is so difficult. Then I look at my springs. I have TWO red springs on. I announce this to the class to make sure they know that I am not a weakling, just a poor listener, and adjust my springs and fly through the rest of the reps.

Besides the utter humiliation from my near death experience, this was a really good class. We did a lot of things that I have either never done before or have only done a few times, like bridging with our feet on the spring board, planking with the gliders, and a variation of feet in straps on the spring board. I will be back to redeem myself to Robin!

Sunday (April 27): Reformer Flow 2 with Maesy

My 50th class and my second level 2! This was a fun class because Maesy recently went to a class that taught her a bunch of new Suspend moves. We were using the TRX straps for most of the class. The hardest move was when we had one foot in both of the straps and teasered up to grab the ankle that was in the strap. We then grabbed the straps and pulled that leg more towards our faces before attempting to roll back down with control. It was really hard, but I will always take a little extra teaser practice. YouTube seems to have no idea what I’m talking about, so unfortunately, I cannot give an example video.

The scariest/most fun move was basically a TRX assisted back bend. The first task was to tie the straps tight enough so that we didn’t fall and die. Once that was figured out, we had the straps around our lower back, leaned back, and walked towards the spring board so our backs were parallel to the ground. Then we reached up and over to put our hands on the ground, leaving us in a back bend. We also did a version of this on the reformer (56:06 in the video) and then lifted and lowered in the back bend. It was a lot of fun, but I did leave a little lightheaded from being upside down so much.

50 Classes Check In

With 50 classes now under my belt, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my journey so far. I am so thankful that I found Pilates. I signed up for my intro class on a whim one night when I was feeling down about myself and was looking for something to get me active, but also just something to do. I don’t want to sound cheesy, but Pilates has honestly changed my life in multiple ways.

First is physically. I have never been one to enjoy a workout. I can viscerally remember the feeling of dread I would get when I would show up to track practice in high school and find out that, surprise! we would be running. In college, I probably went to the gym a total of seven times, and five of those were a desperate last-minute attempt to get abs before Spring Break. I was thrilled to move to a walkable city where I could count my five-block walk to the office and my half-block walk to the 7/11 for Juul pods and a Diet Coke as workouts.

With Pilates though, I rarely dread going to class and always leave feeling good, even when a class is a little disappointing. It’s fun and challenging, and I’m good at it. I think that is the most important thing and what makes it so rewarding. It’s a workout I enjoy, so I keep doing it and keep getting better.

It has also helped me mentally and emotionally. First, by just getting me out of the house. I am a big fan of working from home (see last week’s rant), but some days, I do find that the only time I am exposed to fresh air is when I let Penny out. And some of those days, I don’t even step outside, just hold the door open for her, then race back up to my little hermit cave. But when I sign up for a class, I have to go, under threat of paying $15 for cancelling within 12 hours. And when I get out for a class, I’ll often do other errands or stop for coffee while I’m out and about.

The last couple of months have been a little rough, and when I was really going through it, the only time that I didn’t have my favorite, self-written song of “I’m the worst, I’m the worst, I’m the worst” playing on repeat in my head was during Pilates. Yes, because it’s empowering and I felt good while doing it, but mostly because that song was replaced with “ow, ouch, wait, what? ouch, ouch, ouch.”

I am fully obsessed and basically Cady Heron from Mean Girls: I spend 80% of my time talking about Pilates and the other 20% of the time praying someone else will bring it up so I can talk about it more. If and when I ever start my own cult, Pilates will play a major role. hmu if you want to join.

Sleepy in Seattle

Last weekend, Boyfriend Alex and I crossed the country for the first time together to spend a few days in Seattle. On Friday, we left our apartment bright and early at 4:00am to get to Dulles for our 7:00am flight. It was about a six hour flight but with the time change, we got to Seattle at around 9:00am. We were so tired that we accidentally went to departures to wait for our ride. We stood there, commenting to each other on the people getting dropped off for their flights for probably 20 minutes, not realizing that if they were getting dropped off there, we were probably not in the right place to get picked up. We made a mad dash for arrivals once we realized our mistake, just in time for Kendale to pick us up.

He brought us back to their house on the army base where we picked up his wife, Payton, and went for lunch in Tacoma with their friend, Nelson. After lunch we did some exploring around Tacoma and skipped rocks on the beach (where I almost lost an eye from one of Alex’s attempts). That night we went to the first night of a show in Seattle. I am not a big EDM girlie but with the help of some earplugs and sunglasses, I was able to avoid the overstimulated rage that tends to overwhelm me at shows.

To get onto the base, we all had to show our ID’s. Payton, Kendale, and Nelson were obviously fine because they live there, and Alex used his work ID, so he was fine, but all I had was my lowly civilian Virginia driver’s license. When we got back to base after the show, they told us that they had to run a background check on me before they’d let us go. So they took my ID, my social security number, and a badly lit selfie of me and told us to wait. We had to wait for almost an hour, but I think they just found the blog and got distracted catching up on the Weekend Updates before they were ready to let me in.

I did opt to stay home on Saturday night while they went back to Seattle for the second night of the show. I had big plans to blog so that I would not disappoint you, dear reader, for the second week in a row, but I ended up falling asleep while cuddling their German Shepherd and not waking up until they got home.

Our flight on Sunday didn’t leave until 9:00pm, so we had all day to do touristy stuff around Seattle. We went to the Pike Place Farmer’s Market, saw the first Starbucks (didn’t go in, because the line was long and we have Starbucks at home), and went to the top of the Space Needle. It was such a great weekend! I think my sleep schedule is still adjusting but it was worth it.

Penny had her own little vacation. I hadn’t considered the fact that it was Easter Weekend when I attempted a last minute reservation for her at Jail. Our flight left at 7:00am on Friday morning out of Dulles, and I got an email from Penny’s jailers at 4:00pm on Thursday letting me know that they were fully booked. After panic texting basically everyone I knew, begging them to watch her, we turned to Rover. This was the first time we’ve ever left her with a stranger and I was lowkey terrified we would come home to find the Rover had skipped town with my precious angel, but it worked out great. Penny got to spend the weekend with two other little dogs in someone’s apartment, sleeping in a bed, and chilling on the couch rather than sleeping on a cot in a little room and being surrounded by 30 other dogs all day. Plus, it was cheaper. So win-win for Rover!

Entertainment Weekly

Last week’s Wednesday Movie Date Night was Woman In The Yard. We hadn’t seen any previews for this, so we were going in blind, which is how I prefer to see scary movies, because they tend to put all of the scares in the trailer. This was a movie. I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. It was just a movie. I had an inclination of who the woman in the yard was as soon as we saw her, so the reveal wasn’t that shocking, but there were a few twists along the way. I’d give it a 5/10.

This week’s Wednesday Movie Date Night featured not a thriller or a horror, but A Minecraft Movie. Alex has been basically begging me to go to this for weeks, but I have never played Minecraft, so I thought this movie was not for me. I’m so glad I finally caved, because this was one of my favorite movies we’ve seen this year. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I knew the ins and outs of Minecraft, but even as a visitor in this world, I loved it. I was chuckling, giggling, and full-on laughing hysterically throughout the whole thing. I won’t give away too many of the jokes, but here are a few of my favorites as a little teaser:

“My dad says math has been debunked”

“Are you finished?” “No, I think he’s Swedish, but we’re done.”

Last week’s book was The Alice Network by Kate Quinn, a historical fiction that follows two women, Eve and Charlie as they try to track down people they’ve lost in the wars. Eve is looking for the man who turned her in to the Germans for spying during World War I, and Charlie is looking for her beloved cousin, Rose, who went missing during World War II. It becomes clear that these two people are connected, so driven by Charlie’s love for her cousin and Eve’s need for revenge, they work together to find answers.

I’ve had this book on my list for a long time, and finally snagged it at the library book sale. WHICH, I haven’t even written about! Dream come true, to be honest. I got 15 books and a cute little library tote bag for $50! And one of the perks of living in a city? Multiple libraries which equals multiple library book sales. I went to another one this week and got 12 books for $26. #ThriftQueen. Anyway, the book: it had everything I wanted in a historical fiction, which basically boils down to having something to do with the World Wars. I’m just fascinated by this time period and love a good woman spy.

Nostalgia is so funny. I love reading about this time period because it seems so long ago, but World War II ended not even 80 years ago. I wonder what it’s going to be like when the historical fictions around COVID start coming out.

This week’s book was First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston, which was another score from the library book sale. This was a fiction about a very shady woman, Lucca, who is currently going by the name of Evie. She has found herself in a pretty perfect life with her new boyfriend, Ryan, except this life isn’t real, it’s a job that she’s been sent to do by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. But she’s getting tired of this life of lying and is looking for a way out.

This book surprised me. About halfway through, I thought I had guessed the twist and was actually a little annoyed that it was so easy to guess. But, silly me, I followed the wrong rabbit hole and ended up exactly where the author wanted me to be – totally shocked at the end. A part of me is ashamed at how easily I am led to assumptions by books or movies, but a bigger part of me enjoys getting bamboozled, so I will hold onto my naivety with pride!

Entertainment Weekly is not hitting the same now that Yellowjackets is over. Let’s all take a moment of silence to mourn our loss.

Okay, now go watch our newest obsession: Severance on Amazon Prime. It’s just as dark and twisty but without the cannibalism (yet. We’re only halfway through Season 2, the night is still young).

Rant of The Week

Library book sales are so in. However, I do have a little qualm. The library branch that had their book sale this week reserved the first day of the sale to “Friends of the Library”. To become a friend, you purchase a membership of $10 for a year. This money goes to paying for things for the library that they don’t get money for from the government. Totally down for that – I love a library and want to support them however I can. I paid the $10 and went to snatch up all the good books and give the library more money, which, as a friend, is my right.

My qualm is, now that I have attended two library book sales, I am addicted. I need more book sales. Not to worry! There are more library branches with more sales. BUT to get first dibs, I would have to be a “Friend” of that branch of the library as well. Making me pay money for this friendship is not a very friendly thing to do. I am happy to be friends with all the libraries, but when will they start being my friend?

On the other hand, this program has given me an idea to start charging my own friends a subscription fee to my friendship. Something to think about…

In’s and Out’s

In:

Library book sales

Being careful

Really cool sticks

Out:

Being a civilian

Email bounce backs

Dulles

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I know my promises are starting to mean nothing to you all now, but we have no travel plans coming up, so I swear to not leave you hanging for two weeks again any time soon. Please don’t be mad at me. Okay bye.